A team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Friday morning arrived at the Gyanvapi mosque premises in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, where a scientific survey of the complex began at nearly 7 am, amid tight security.
The first half of the survey took place till 12 noon and will again be undertaken from 3 to 5 pm today.
The development comes a day after the Allahabad High Court on Thursday allowed the ASI to conduct the survey, which aims to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
Only the people appointed by the district administration were present at the premises when the ASI survey began.
Meanwhile, the members of the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee boycotted the survey.
Sohanlal Arya from the Hindu side said that during the previous survey, several artifacts, including sculptures of Shiva and Parvati, a statue of Varaha (boar avatar of Vishnu), bells, tridents, and many other pieces of evidence, were found inside the premises, indicating the site is a temple.
On Thursday, the Allahabad High Court upheld a Varanasi district court order and ruled that the proposed step is “necessary in the interest of justice” and will benefit both sides.
The order came after the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee, representing the Muslim side to the legal dispute, moved the Supreme Court against the Varanasi district court order.
BJP leaders welcomed the high court verdict, saying the “truth” about the temple at the site will now come out.
“It is a good verdict. For us Indians, it is one that gives hope. Truth always comes out, it takes time but the truth comes out,” BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur told reporters outside Parliament.
